Misc Adventures
by Groudon199
Summary: A series of one-shots focusing on my OCs, Olivia and Cloudflare, and their adventures at Canterlot High School. [Equestria Girls universe, stories range from K to K-plus]
1. Sparkly Sleepover

**A/N: This is a place where I'll put anything I think of writing that is too short for its own story entry. Both characters are from my other stories, so make sure you've read them first.**

 **Told from Olivia's POV, this is her experience at the sleepover the other girls had shortly after the Friendship Games, which is covered in one of the chapter books.**

 **Rating: K**

* * *

I _finally_ arrive at Pinkie's house. That took way longer than it should've. She texted me the wrong address, typing a 5 instead of a 4.

I knock on the door. A few moments later, it opens.

"You're here!" Pinkie says.

"Yup. Took me a while, though."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Pinkie is wearing a sleeveless light blue shirt with balloons on it and a pink bow. The shoulder straps are purple. Her shorts and slippers are also light blue, and there are pink bows on the slippers.

"Cute pajamas. The balloons really suit you."

"Thanks! Balloons my third favorite thing."

"What are the other two?"

"Parties and my friends!"

I enter and close the door behind me. "Where should I get changed?"

"In the bathroom. It's the door _aaaaall_ the way at the end of the right hall. When you're done, my room is the first door on the left." We walk up the stairs. "Don't take too long! We're about to start our first game!"

"I'll try not to."

She enters her room. I walk to the bathroom door and knock. After a few seconds of no response, I open it, enter, and close it.

* * *

I exit the bathroom wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and long black socks. I don't have any cute sleepwear, so I packed what I usually wear at night.

I open the first door on the left. Inside, the girls are sitting in a circle on the floor.

"Olivia! You're just in time!" Rarity says. "We're about to start our first activity."

"Sweet! So I didn't miss anything?"

"Nope!" Pinkie says.

I look around the room. There are balloons with glitter on them, streamers covered in silver stars draped across the ceiling, and cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles on the table in the corner. "Is this a sleepover or a party?"

"Both!" Pinkie says. "It _is_ a slumber party, after all! Tonight's is extra special since this is our first one with Twilight and you!"

"Did Cloudflare get a special welcome?"

"Sadly, no. 20 minutes isn't enough time to put together something _this_ extravagant, even for me."

"What a shame." I would've _loved_ to see his reaction to something like this. I join them, sitting between Rarity and Twilight. "What are we playing?"

"Spin the Nail Polish," Sunset says.

"Spin the... what?"

"When it's your turn," Rarity explains, "you pick a nail polish color and spin it in a circle on the floor. When it stops spinning, it will be pointing toward someone, and that person gets one nail painted that color. We don't stop until everyone's nails are done."

"That sounds... pretty exciting! One question, though. Are we doing fingernails _and_ toenails?"

"Normally we only do fingernails," Rainbow says. "We _can_ do both, if you want."

"Nah, I was just checking. Besides, I only have one actual foot."

"Fingernails it is, then," Rarity says.

"You go first," Fluttershy says to Twilight.

Twilight looks at the bottles of nail polish in the cosmetics box. She takes a deep breath, then takes a bottle of silver polish.

"Ooh! I hope I get _that_ color," Sunset says.

"Give it a good spin," Rarity says.

Twilight sets it on the ground, then spins it. When it stops, the white top is pointing at Applejack.

"Aw geez! Now I'm gonna look like one of the Dazzlings!" she says.

"Are not!" Rainbow says.

"The Dazzlings had silver nails?" I ask.

"Who are the Dazzlings?" Twilight asks. She hasn't even heard of the Dazzlings at Crystal Prep?!

"It's a long story," Rarity says. "Don't worry about it. You just paint one of Applejack's nails."

"Okay."

To be fair, those three aren't well-known outside the choir. The only reason _I_ know them is because Sonata was in my History class and we worked together on a few assignments.

"The Dazzlings were these girls who came here from Equestria to sow discord among us," Sunset tells Twilight.

"But Sunset stopped them!" Applejack says.

"They also helped turn Cloudflare's school life around," I say.

"Which was, like, the only thing they did that _wasn't_ evil," Rainbow says.

"Well, they had evil intentions," Fluttershy says.

"It _certainly_ wasn't their plan," Rarity says. "It just sort of... happened."

"I'm glad it did." I still feel guilty about getting him wrapped up in all that in the first place and leaving him behind, but I feel a little better knowing he wasn't miserable the _entire_ time.

* * *

As we near the end of the game, Sunset and I are the only girls who still have an unpainted nail. The nine of mine that _are_ painted are all different colors. I can sense Rainbow's jealousy. Hers are all red. Pinkie's are all green; Fluttershy's are purple, gold, and red; Twilight's alternate blue and white; Rarity's are blue, orange, silver, and yellow; and Applejack's are silver and gold.

"You're up, Olivia!" Pinkie says.

I look in the box. Hm... I haven't picked white yet. I take it out of the box. "Do I _have_ to spin this? Sunset's the only other girl left, and I'm pretty sure I can't paint my own nail."

"That's fine," Rainbow says. "We never spin when it's down to one or two people."

"Okay, then."

While I'm painting her left ring fingernail, I glance at her a few times. She's wearing the purple PJs that Cloudflare mentioned from their first sleepover. There's something else that caught his attention, but I'm not seeing what it could be.

When I finish, she holds out her other hand. The nails on both of them are alternating blue and white. Just like –

"Hey!" She holds her hands up for everyone to see. Her nails are an exact match to Twilight's.

"Wow!"

"Cool!"

"Awesome!"

"How did that happen?" Rarity asks.

Sunset shrugs. "I don't know. The magic of friendship, I guess!"

Glad the other girls are getting a laugh out of it. I'm still getting used to magic being a thing.

"I love this game!" Twilight says.

Rarity smiles. "Thank you, darling! I aim to please. Now then, it's your turn, Sunset."

Sunset looks in the box, then takes a pink bottle.

"Sweet!" I exclaim. "Ten nails, ten colors!"

"Lucky you..." Rainbow mutters.

I hold out my hand for Sunset, and she starts painting my right thumbnail – using only her right hand to allow her nail to dry.

With her attention on my thumb, I can look her over without having to take quick glances. Even from this angle, I can't see what Cloudflare might've seen.

I look at my nails when she finishes. I never thought I'd be excited about having mismatched nail colors.

* * *

"Sardines!" Rainbow says.

"Ooh! I _love_ that game!" Fluttershy exclaims.

"Who's hiding?"

All the other girls except Twilight are excitedly jumping up and down saying "Me!"

"How about..." Rainbow points at me. "You!"

Uh... "Me? Um... How do I play?"

They look at me in surprise. "You've _never_ played Sardines?"

"I've never _heard_ of it."

"It's called sardines because everybody ends up all squished in someplace secret together," Pinkie says, "like those little smelly fish that come in a can all piled up on top of one another."

Good thing I'm not claustrophobic.

"I like to think of it as playing baby squirrels hiding in a little nest in a tree," Fluttershy says. "Except all the squirrels have to be very, very quiet so no one else will find them."

"I'm... still not sure I follow."

"Let me explain the rules," Rainbow says. "It's kinda the opposite of hide-and-seek. Only one person hides – in this case, you – and when one of us finds you, we have to join you. One by one, we'll all pile in with you wherever you are."

"It's a blast!" Rarity says.

"That _does_ sounds fun, even for the hider. How much time do I get to hide?"

"Well," Rainbow says, "since this is your first time at Pinkie's house... Six minutes."

"Alright." I stand up. "I'll try to find a tricky hiding spot." I exit the room.

I need to look for a spot that's either not obvious or somewhere you wouldn't even _think_ about checking. I go back to the bathroom and knock on the door.

" _¡Ocupado!_ " a voice angrily yells from the other side. So much for that. Unless I want to knock on every door, I'll have to stick to the lower floor.

I walk down the stairs, then look at a chair in the corner of the living room. It looks like it's part of a couch, and there's enough room for me to get behind it. That's way too obvious, though, and it'll be the first place they look. I check the kitchen. I could hide under the sink, but I'd have to move a bunch of stuff out of the way.

I move into the next room. There's a washer and dryer in here as well as a pile of clothes. Looks like this is the laundry room. I open the dryer door. I could fit in one of these when I was seven. No way am I trying now. I close it. I look at the clothes. That's a pretty large pile. I _know_ no one would think to check there. But do I really want to hide under a pile of dirty clothes?

Eh, I've been around worse. I carefully slip into the pile. It doesn't smell all that bad, actually. And now, I wait...

A few minutes later, I hear the voices of the other girls. They're still upstairs, so I can't make out any words. Another minute later, I hear footsteps approaching. They stop, and the towel on top of me is pulled away.

"Found you!"

I look up. It's Sunset Shimmer. "How'd you find me so quickly?" I quietly say.

"I had a feeling you'd pick a pretty inconspicuous spot. Plus, this is where I would've hidden as well." She puts the clothes back and joins me under them.

I'm alone... with Sunset Shimmer. Every alarm in my head is going off. Get out now! Don't give her the opportunity!

"You okay?" she whispers. "You seem tense."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." The last couple weeks have shown me she _has_ changed, but the way she ruined my life will always be in the back of my mind.

A couple minutes later, Fluttershy finds us, followed shortly after by the other girls except Twilight. It takes another couple minutes for her to get anywhere near us, and she probably would have given up if Pinkie didn't start giggling.

She removes the towel on top of us.

"Surprise!" the other girls say with a laugh.

"We thought you'd never find us," Applejack says.

"Phew! It was hot under there," Sunset says.

"At least it didn't smell too bad," I say.

"That was the best hiding place ever," Rainbow says to me.

"You were brave to burrow under all those dirty clothes," Fluttershy says.

"It's not the first time I've been covered in dirty laundry," I say. "When I was eleven, my old friends and I challenged each other to see how long they could stay in a clothes hamper full of clothing. It stunk a lot worse than these."

* * *

After showing off our dance moves and taking silly selfies – and comforting Twilight when she got homesick – it's time for the 'slumber' part of the night.

This was easily the best slumber party I've ever been to. The games and activities were great, but being with my friends makes it even better.

Friends... Something I thought I'd never have after last school year. I was so happy when Cloudflare became my first friend in years, but having _nine_ friends, seven of which are here tonight... There just aren't enough words to describe how ecstatic that makes me feel. It almost makes the year of torment worth it.

Almost, but not quite. I never told him, but the week I met him was supposed to be my last week at CHS. I was set to transfer to a school in Manehattan at the end of the week. When Cloudflare told me he wanted to hang out, I gave him a chance. After a couple days, I could tell he was being sincere, so I decided to tough it out as long as I could. Things didn't get better, but having a friend made it easier to deal with everything.

Speaking of Cloudflare, I never _did_ figure out what he saw during that sleepover. Maybe it's just a guy thing.

I close my eyes and wait to drift off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Not all of them will be placing the characters in existing movies and books. I have a few original ideas.**


	2. First Encounter

**A/N: This is the first time Cloudflare and Olivia met, back in February of the previous school year.** **It's just their initial meeting. Their first time hanging out will come later.** **Unlike the other stuff I've done, this is told from a third-person viewpoint.**

 **Rating: K**

* * *

Cloudflare, Thunderlane, Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Blossomforth are sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch.

After a discussion about one of their teachers, Cloudflare looks behind him. A girl is sitting at one of the nearby tables and eating her lunch by herself. _She doesn't look familiar,_ he thinks. _How have I never noticed her before? It's the only time I've seen anyone eat by themselves._

"What are you looking at?" Blossomforth asks.

"The girl at that table."

His friends look at the girl.

"Oh, _that_ girl," Cloudchaser says. "She's missing part of her leg, and everyone teases her about it."

"Anybody who doesn't never goes near her because they don't want to be teased as well," Thunderlane says.

"Especially with Sunset Shimmer running the school," Flitter says. "Their reputation would be ruined immediately."

"What for?" Cloudflare asks. "For being friends with somebody different?"

"If you know what's good for you," Blossomforth warns, "you'll stay away from that girl."

 _I know Sunset Shimmer's mean,_ Cloudflare thinks, _but there's no way she'd be_ _ **that**_ _cruel. Besides, everybody needs at least one friend._

* * *

The next day, Cloudflare is walking down a hallway to his second class.

One person catches his attention. _That's the girl from yesterday._ She's getting a book out of her locker. _If what Blossomforth said is true, talking to her now would be a huge mistake._ He looks at her locker number. _187... Got it._ He keeps walking. _I'll leave a note in her locker when nobody's around._

He reaches his History classroom and sits down. He gets out a piece of paper. _Hm... Where should I tell her to meet me at..._ He retrieves a pencil from his case.

"Meet me in the dimly-lit corner of the school after the final bell. Just want to talk. I promise."

 _Not the best place,_ he thinks, _but it's the most private._ He tears off the unused portion, then folds the note and puts it in his pocket

When class is half over, he asks Mr. Turner if he can use the restroom. Taking the hall pass, he makes his way to the girl's locker. _183... 185... 187!_ He stops in front of the girl's locker and takes out the note. He looks up and down the hallway to make sure nobody's watching, then slides the note into the opening at the top of the locker. _I hope this works._

Following her third class, the girl makes another stop at her locker. She opens it, then takes out her Biology book. As she does, a piece of paper falls onto the ground.

 _I don't remember putting that there,_ she thinks. She picks it up and reads it. _Someone wants to meet with me_ _ **there**_ _?_ She's immediately suspicious. It's a very shady spot, and she's always made sure to steer clear of it. _I mean, no one's ever written a note telling me to meet them_ _ **anywhere**_ _, and this person_ _ **did**_ _say they just want to talk._ She puts the note back in her locker. _I'll think about it._ She puts away her other two books.

* * *

After Cloudflare's final class lets out, he makes a beeline for the meeting spot.

"Well, here I am," he says to himself when he arrives. "Why _is_ this part of the school unlit? Can the school not afford to fix the lights?"

After five minutes of waiting, he starts to get concerned. _I guess she's not coming. Can't blame her. Why would she trust some random note left in her locker?_

"Uh... he-hello?"

Cloudflare looks to his right. The girl has finally shown up.

"Hi there," he says.

"Are... you the one who wrote this note?" She nervously takes the note out of her pocket.

"Yeah, that was me. Name's Cloudflare."

"I'm... Olivia."

"Olivia... That's a nice name." _I need to choose my words carefully. She seems really on-edge._ "Sorry about the creepy meeting spot. This was the most private place I could think of."

 _Why did he say it like_ _ **that**_ _?_ Olivia thinks. She lets out an irritated sigh. "What do you _really_ want?"

"Huh?"

"You want the rest of my lunch money? Today's Math homework? Wanna throw my prosthesis down the hall?"

"What? No! I seriously _just_ want to talk."

"Talk about how much of a freak I am?!" She's trying to hold back her tears. "You could've told me at my locker like everybody else instead of luring me here!"

 _Okay, maybe I should've worded that better._ "I'm _not_ here to insult you, Olivia! I just..." He takes a deep breath to calm down. "I actually wanted to ask if you want to hang out with me."

"Hang out?" _Nice try._ "Thanks, but no thanks. Last time somebody told me that, she turned on the sprinklers when I went to her house."

"I'm not like that girl. Besides, I don't even _have_ a sprinkler system."

 _He's certainly the most persistent._ "Why would you want to hang out with _me?_ I've seen you in the cafeteria. You have plenty of friends."

"Doesn't mean I can't have one more. I saw you in the cafeteria yesterday eating by yourself. I didn't think it was right that you were all alone. Everybody needs at least _one_ friend."

 _This is... This is the nicest anyone has been to me in a long time._ "Well..."

"Just give me a chance."

 _Maybe I should... I mean, this is my last week at CHS. When he turns out to be just like the others, I won't have to put up with him for very long._ She sighs. "Fine. _One_ chance. But we meet at your house."

 _That was a bit easier than I was expecting._ "That's okay with me. You won't regret this. Can I have your number so I can text you my address?"

She scoffs. "I ain't giving you my number!" _I don't feel like changing it again._ She gives him the note. "Write it on the back of this."

"Okay." He takes out a pencil and writes his address on the paper. "There you go." He hands it back.

"Thanks. I'll stop by tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

She leaves.

 _Cloudflare seems... different from the others,_ Olivia thinks. _He sounded a lot more sincere than everybody who pretended to get to know me. I shouldn't be optimistic after so long, but there's a slim chance he could be the friend I've longed for for years._


	3. Shadowy Spa Party

**A/N: Told from Olivia's POV, this is her second sleepover. It takes place a few days after the previous sleepover, and Cloudflare is also attending.**

 **Rating: K+ [mild language]**

* * *

I walk up to Rarity's door and ring the doorbell. I still think inviting Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, and Sour Sweet was a bad idea.

Rarity opens the door. "Hey, Rarity," I say.

"Olivia! Oh, those are _adorable_ pajamas!"

"Thanks." I'm wearing a light blue long-sleeved shirt and thin dark blue sweatpants with light blue hearts on them. "I picked them out while all of you were rock climbing yesterday." I walk inside.

"Why didn't you wait to change into them here?"

"If I show up wearing them, I don't have to waste the first couple minutes putting them on." We head upstairs.

"Good point."

She opens her bedroom door and we enter. The place _does_ look like a spa. Hanging ferns, throw pillows, candles... Is that the sound of the ocean?

"Wow... And I thought _Pinkie's_ sleepover was extravagant!"

Sunny Flare groans. "You didn't tell us _she_ was coming!"

"Nice to see you girls, too," I say sarcastically.

"Be _nice_ ," Sour Sweet says to her in her overly-sweet tone. "We _already_ made her feel bad enough at the Friendship Games!"

"You didn't make me feel bad."

"Threatening to reveal your missing leg to the entire student body didn't upset you?" Sugarcoat asks.

"I was more afraid than anything else. Besides, Cinch is the one who orchestrated the whole thing."

"Cute PJs!" Pinkie says to me.

"Thanks."

"When did you get those?" Cloudflare asks.

"Yesterday, while everyone was rock climbing."

"Okay, _now_ everyone's here," Sunny Flare says.

"Not yet," Fluttershy says. "Twilight still hasn't arrived."

"Oh, right," Sour Sweet says.

"I wonder why she's late," Sunny Flare says. "Maybe she turned into Midnight Sparkle again."

Was... Was that supposed to be a joke?

"Why would she?" Rarity asks.

"We all make mistakes," Sunset says.

"I don't know," Sunny Flare says. "It's just that once someone's turned into a monster… well, you know. You can't help but wonder if it might not happen again. It's so… you know, brave of you to invite her to spend the night."

"Just because someone's turned into a monster once doesn't mean they are going to do it again," Sunset says. "I should know."

Sunny Flare looks at me. "It's also brave of _you_ to spend the night with someone who made your life a living hell." She knows?

"You told her?" Cloudflare asks me.

"I haven't told any of them. They know I had a bad rep at CHS, but not why."

"Sugarcoat was spying on you when you last met with Lemon Zest," Sour Sweet says.

"I wasn't spying," Sugarcoat says. "I overheard their conversation in the diner."

"Spying, eavesdropping... Same thing."

"I value Cloudflare's opinion more than yours," I say. "If he says Sunset Shimmer isn't a monster anymore, I believe him."

The doorbell rings a couple times, and a dog barks.

"Hello?" the person calls out. "Anyone home?" That's Twilight's voice.

After a minute of nobody talking, she enters the room. "Hey, everyone! I've got beads and gems and stickers and charms for friendship bracelets. They are gonna look so great! So, what's the plan for tonight? What are we doing first?"

Her cheerful demeanor doesn't match the atmosphere in the room. I'm still staring down the three Shadowbolts.

"I brought the ingredients for oatmeal masks..." Fluttershy says, finally breaking the silence.

"Oatmeal masks?" Sunny Flare says. "What are those?"

"You grind up oatmeal and dampen it with a little water and put it on your face to dry. It makes your skin all smooth and soft... when you wash it off... I guess... I give the puppies oatmeal baths sometimes..." Uh... I thought that's what facial masks were for. Like, _actual_ facial masks. "It was just an idea. We don't have to do it..." Also, you bathe puppies in _oatmeal?!_

"How about we play Flashlight Tag instead?" Rainbow suggests. "I brought the flashlight."

"We are _not_ playing Flashlight Tag!" Sunny Flare says, stomping her foot. "I came to a spa party. I thought we would have a fashion show."

A... fashion show? Right, because when I think of spas, the first thing that comes to mind is a _runway._

"What will we wear?" Pinkie says. "I didn't bring my designer PJs." She giggles.

"Hmph..." Sunny Flare glares at her.

" _I_ think it's a great idea," Applejack says. "Don't make fun of Pinkie."

"I didn't _say_ anything!" she says. She looks at Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat, who aren't looking at her.

"You were being mean," Sugarcoat mutters. "I could tell."

"I wasn't!"

"Stop bickering!" Sour Sweet yells.

I _knew_ inviting these three was a bad idea. Although so far, it seems Sunny Flare is the only problem student.

Sugarcoat sighs. "This party needs some help." If by 'help', you mean kicking out the Shadowbolts, then I agree.

"Were they always like this?" Cloudflare whispers to me.

"I don't know. I never hung out with them at Crystal Prep." I sigh. "I really wish Lemon could've made it."

"Why couldn't she?"

"She's seeing the band Revelation in concert tonight."

"The band that that Colin guy was the drummer for?"

I nod.

"I didn't know they were still touring."

"Neither did I."

" _Ooh!_ " Rarity says. "Everything is so pretty!"

On the floor is an assortment of craft materials: Yarn, thread, charms, beads...

"You bought all of this for us to use?" Sour Sweet asks.

Twilight nods. "Let's make friendship bracelets for one another! I'll make one for you first. What's your favorite color?"

"Green," she says. "Can I make one for you?"

"Absolutely!"

Twilight Sparkle to the rescue! All of us sit down and get to work.

* * *

Just as I'm putting the finishing touches on my bracelet, my phone buzzes. I get it out, and I see I have a MyFace push notification. 'Sunny Flare has sent you a message.' I look up at her. She's looking at her bracelet. I open the app and check my messages.

[SF] "Ur cloudflares former gf right?"

Why couldn't she ask me that in person? I send her my response.

[Liv] "Yeah. And before you ask, it was a mutual break-up."

A minute later, she replies.

[SF] "Ur ok with him dating sunset shimmer?"

[Liv] "Why wouldn't I be? He can date whoever he wants. He doesn't need my approval."

[SF] "But doesnt it burn u up inside? The boy of ur dreams in the arms of the wicked witch of chs"

I don't like where this is going. I look at her. She's staring at me with a smug expression. I'm not giving her the satisfaction of a response. I turn off my phone's screen and put the phone back in my pocket, then return to working on my bracelet.

"Here," Sunny Flare says a moment later. She's looking at Sugarcoat with a scowl. "Because we're best friends, right?"

Sugarcoat gulps. "Thanks. But can't we all be friends?"

"Absolutely!" Twilight says. "It's great to have a lot of friends. We can have friends who like to study or bake or play sports or go on picnics or... you get the idea."

"Really?" Sunny Flare says.

"Maybe there's a friendship game we can play," Sugarcoat suggests.

"Oh, but there is!" Sunny Flare responds.

"Oh? And what might _that_ be?" I say.

"Maybe it's not such a good idea..."

"Just tell us!" Rainbow exclaims.

"There's one way to find out if everyone really _is_ friends."

"C'mon!" Applejack says.

She takes a deep breath. "I think it's time for us to play..." She looks at me with a smirk. "Truth... Or... Dare!"

Yeah... That sounds like a terrible idea.

"Uh... How do we play?" Sunset asks.

"I think you're supposed to make cards," Rainbow says.

"I've always assumed you can ask anybody any question you want," Cloudflare says.

"You've never played?" Sour Sweet asks.

Sunset gets her phone out. "Let me look up the rules."

"Oh, _we_ know how to play," Sugarcoat says. "We always play."

"Sunny Flare makes us," Sour Sweet says.

"There are a lot of different ways to play," Sunny Flare says. "The way we always play is that each person creates two cards: A truth card and a dare card.

"I _knew_ you needed cards!" Rainbow says.

She _just_ said there are different ways to play! Not _all_ of them use cards!

"On one, we write a dare," Sunny Flare continues. "Something scary enough that you might take a truth card."

"One time," Sugarcoat says, "I had to drink a spoonful of this yucky mix of ketchup and mayonnaise and pepper and soy sauce and orange juice... I never want to do _that_ again. I'll pick a truth card every time."

"There are truth cards?" Applejack asks. "We don't just ask any ol' questions we want?"

"No," Sunny Flare says in an irritated tone. "Two piles of cards, and each person can choose either a truth or dare." She walks over to her bag and gets some pens and paper. "Okay, everybody, let's get creative. This is the chance to get the truth out there, to find out what you've always secretly wanted to know about one another."

It'd make more sense to ask specific questions if you wanted to find out something. That's not easily doable with truth cards.

I sigh. Might as well get it over with. I write my truth and dare on each respective page.

"What was the dumbest thing you did as a kid?"

"Keep 3 tablespoons of hot sauce in your mouth for 2 minutes"

I put them on top of each pile face-down, then Sugarcoat shuffles them.

"Now someone has to volunteer to go first," Sunny Flare says.

Not me. And by the looks of it, not anyone else.

"We need to do eenie, meenie, miney, mo or something," Pinkie says. "Or roll dice. Or something."

"That's not a bad idea," Sugarcoat says. "You got any dice, Rarity?"

"One second." Rarity reaches under her bed and pulls out a board game box. She looks inside and finds a couple dice. "Here you go, Olivia. You roll first." She hands me the dice.

I shake them in my hands, then roll them: A 3 and a 1. "Ha! 4! Try to beat _that_ , suckers!" That will be _very_ easy to beat.

After everyone rolls, the order is decided. Cloudflare is up first, followed by me.

"Okay, Cloudflare," Sunny Flare says. "Truth... or dare?"

"Hmm... Dare! I'm feeling adventurous." Wow... He usually isn't the type to take risks. Well, aside from being my friend. He picks up a dare card. "Uh... Never mind. I pick truth."

"Nope!" she says. "No takebacks!"

He sighs. "Fine... 'Keep 3 tablespoons of hot sauce in your mouth for 2 minutes.'"

Oh, right... He hates hot sauce. That completely slipped my mind.

"I see why you wanted to change it," Rainbow says.

"That... and I don't do well with hot sauce."

"It's true," I say. "He's a total wuss when it comes to spicy stuff."

"I'm not a wuss! I just... don't like it."

"Oh, please! You wouldn't even try _mild_ sauce!"

"Wait a second..." He reads the card again. " _You_ wrote this?"

I sigh. "I thought someone else would get it."

"Enough chatter," Sunny Flare says. "Rarity, you got any hot sauce?"

"Uh... w-well..." she nervously says.

"I've got some!" Pinkie says, holding a small bottle of hot sauce and a spoon. "Never leave home without it!"

Why would she need hot sauce? Was something not spicy enough, but she didn't have anything to increase the spiciness, so now she carries a bottle everywhere she goes?

He sighs. "Just give me the damn thing and let me get it over with."

"Okay, Mr. Grumpy Pants!" Pinkie gives him the bottle and spoon. I take this time to open the clock app on my phone and set the timer for two minutes.

"Rarity, can you get the milk ready?" I ask.

"We shouldn't tempt him," Sunny Flare says. "Seeing the milk might make it tougher for him to last the entire time."

"But when it's over, he can cool down right away."

"He'll be fine. He knows where the kitchen is."

He takes a deep breath. "Well... Here goes everything..." He pours the sauce to the top of the spoon, then slowly moves the spoon close to and finally inside his mouth. When he removes the spoon, he quickly pours another spoonful and dumps it into his mouth, then repeats one more time.

"Okay, two minutes start..." I tap the start button. "Now."

Ten seconds in, and he's already showing discomfort. I pick up the bottle. It's not _hella_ spicy, but it's also not the mild stuff. I'll be impressed if he makes to _one_ minute.

A minute passes. He's trying all he can to distract himself. I've never seen him in this much distress. I almost want to step in and call the dare off. If I knew he was gonna draw it, I would've made it shorter... or something completely different.

Thirty seconds left. His face is red, his eyes are watering, and he's covering his mouth with his hand. I feel _really_ bad for getting him into this.

"Five... four... three... two... one..." The alarm sounds, which I then shut off.

Cloudflare quickly spits the sauce into the nearby garbage can. He hurries out of the room, panting.

"That was... somethin'..." Applejack says.

"I hope he's okay," Fluttershy says.

"He'll be fine," Sunny Flare says. "It's just hot sauce." She looks at me. "Now then, you're next."

I hope he doesn't hate me for that. I sigh. "I'm not a fan of dares in general, so..." I pick up a truth card and read it to myself.

...

Why is _this_ in here? I glare at Sunny Flare. "You having fun? Is _this_ how you entertain yourself?!"

"What does it say?" Fluttershy asks. I hand the card to her. "'What happened to your leg that caused you to lose it?'"

"There's no way I'm answering this!" I say.

"That's not how you play!" Sunny Flare says.

"That's how _I'm_ playing! If I've kept it a secret from Cloudflare, there's no way in hell I'm telling _you!_ "

She sighs. "Fine. I'll have to show all of you how this game is played." She picks up a dare card and reads it to herself. She sets it behind her, then lets out a dramatic sigh. "I _really_ don't want to do this, but a dare _is_ a dare."

"What did it say?" Sunset asks.

"I hate to have to do this... It said, 'Do your best impression of... Midnight Sparkle!' Well, here goes!"

I don't think so! I stand up. "I have a dare for you. Get the hell out of here!"

"You always do this," Sugarcoat says to her. "Why can't we just have fun for once? Why can't we just be nice to each other - like these girls and Cloudflare?"

Rarity clears her throat. "Sunny Flare. This is my house and my spa party, and we are not playing games like this anymore. I agree with Olivia. Maybe you should go home."

"No!" Twilight yells. "Sunny Flare, you don't have to be like this. You don't have to be mean. You can have friends if you want them."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've been where you are. I've been a monster, too. I thought winning was more important than friends. But there's nothing more important than friends. Nothing in the whole world."

"I have friends!"

"Kind of," Sugarcoat says.

"When you're nice," Sour Sweet agrees.

"I just wish we could have fun like everyone else," Sugarcoat says.

"I thought so," Sunset says. She's looking at the card Sunny Flare picked up. "It says 'Do a stupid dance', not 'Imitate Midnight Sparkle'. That was your own idea. You came up with that yourself."

"Twilight's the one who's a real monster," Sunny Flare says. "Not me."

"We can all turn into monsters sometimes, but the important thing is to know when you do."

"And there's something even more important than that," Twilight says. "We're all going to forgive you when you do. That's what Cloudflare and these girls from Canterlot High have taught me. We all make mistakes sometimes."

Sunny Flare looks surprised. "You'd forgive me? Really?"

"I would," Twilight says. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"If Twilight forgives you," Rarity says, "we all do."

Well... I can forgive her for wanting to do the Midnight Sparkle thing, but I'm not so quick to excuse the leg question. Her bad attitude and the question intended for me means it wasn't simple curiosity.

"I'm sorry, everyone," she says. "Really. Maybe it would be more fun to give one another new hairstyles than play Truth or Dare."

Not sure why we didn't do that in the first place.

"I'm gonna go check on Cloudflare," I say. "Make sure his mouth's not _literally_ on fire."

* * *

I walk into Rarity's kitchen. Cloudflare is standing near the sink.

I head over to him. "You okay?"

He looks at me. "I am now."

I look at the milk jug. It's almost completely empty. "It was _that_ bad, huh?"

"It was _real_ bad. Not bad enough that I had to drink an entire gallon of milk, though. This was about half full when I got it out of the fridge. _Thanks_ for that, by the way."

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think _you_ would get that one!"

"I know." He drinks the rest of the milk. "That did seem specifically targeted at me, though."

"I had to come up with something, and that was the first thing I thought of. Honestly, I completely forgot you hate hot sauce."

"That felt like the longest 2 minutes ever."

"At least it's over."

"And I never have to do it again."

* * *

The rest of the night progressed a lot more smoothly. We had a pajama fashion show, we played Flashlight Tag in the living room, we finished making our friendship bracelets... Sunset and I even convinced Cloudflare to let all of us give him a makeover. He ended up looking like the vampire from the Midnight series. I wasn't a fan of those movies. It felt like I was the only teenage girl not gawking over hot vampires and underwear model werewolves.

Speaking of, I saw him staring at Sunset a few times. I tried to follow his gaze, but nothing on her stood out. She looks like the same Sunset Shimmer I've always seen, only in pajamas. Maybe he has a thing for girls in purple PJs. That would be a bit odd, since his favorite color is blue.

As they say, all good things must come to an end. All of us are lying in our sleeping bags, getting ready to fall asleep. It started off a disaster, but this sleepover has been kinda fun. Sunny Flare really redeemed herself, and I think I can forgive her for the leg thing.

Before we doze off, Sunny Flare gets something out of her clothing bag. It's covered in jewels.

"What's that?" Rarity asks.

"It's a crown I made," she says. "For Twilight. For a long time, we've told her that she was no good at friendship, but that's not true. _We_ were terrible at friendship. She's the one who knows how to reach out and be brave and friendly. It's like she's a princess of friendship." She puts the crown on Twilight's head.

"Now you really _are_ just like the princess!" Spike says.

"What princess?" Sour Sweet asks.


	4. Budding Friendship

**A/N: This takes place the day after Cloudflare and Olivia first met and is told from a third-person viewpoint.**

 **Rating: K**

* * *

Cloudflare is eagerly waiting in his house, playing Rock Hero to pass the time. He told his friends he had to visit his uncle so they wouldn't pay him any surprise visits. If this works out, he might have to come up with more excuses.

 _"We're go_ n _na take some t_ **i** _me to do the thinGs we neve_ r  
 _Ha_ **A** _aaa_ _ **a**_ _ave, ooh o_ o _h"_

"Finally! That took longer than it should have."

The doorbell rings.

"That must be her!" He walks downstairs.

Outside, Olivia is waiting at the door. _I hope he actually gave me_ _ **his**_ _address. At least this one's a residence. I made sure to check that before potentially wasting my time again._

Cloudflare opens the door and sees Olivia standing there. "You made it!" he exclaims.

"Of course," she says. "I'm not one of those jerks who breaks a date."

"This is a date?"

"You know what I mean. So can I come in or am I gonna stand out here all day? Wouldn't be the first time..."

"If I wanted you to stay in the cold, I wouldn't have answered the door." He steps out of the doorway.

"Yeah, I guess." She walks inside.

"Jacket and shoes go over here," he says while standing next to a coat hanger.

As she removes her shoes, he notices her socks, much like the rest of her clothes, are black.

"Why all black?" he asks.

"It's so I don't stand out as much. Makes it less likely students will pick on me."

"Does it work?"

She removes her coat. "Oh, yes. Instead of _25_ times a week, it's only around _15_ times a week." She says that with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

They walk upstairs.

"Why _do_ they pick on you, anyway?" he asks.

"You know _exactly_ why."

"My friends told me it's because you're missing half of your leg. That's not the _only_ reason, right?"

"Nope. That's it."

Cloudflare is stunned. "Are you serious?! I thought you might've done something embarrassing that Sunset Shimmer discovered!"

"Sorry I disappointed you," she sarcastically says.

"I'm not disappointed. Just surprised." He opens the door to his bedroom. "After you."

She shakes her head. "Nuh-uh. You first." _Having my back to him is the easiest way for him to try something. Nothing happened when I walked away from him at school, but this is his room. I'm nervous enough just being here._

"Alright." He walks into the room, and she follows.

Inside, the first thing to catch Olivia's attention is the bed along the left wall, in front of the door. Lying on top of it is a blanket with cartoon characters on it.

"You watch Urgency Falls?"

"Yeah. My 9-year-old cousin was watching it when I visited one day, and she _begged_ me to watch it with her. It turned out to be a pretty good show. I binge-watched every episode later that month, and after I told her, she got me that blanket."

"I've heard good things about that show, but I've never seen it for myself."

"Because of the channel it's on?"

She nods. "Even when I was in the target age group for the shows on that network, I didn't watch it very often. Maybe you could..." She pauses. _I can't believe I'm saying something like this so soon..._ "sh-show me a few episodes one day?"

"Uh... Sure... No problem." _She seemed so timid at school. I thought she'd be super nervous and bitter. She still is, but not as much as she was yesterday.._

She looks at the rest of the room. The walls and ceiling are painted a plain white, and a dark blue carpet covers the floor. An entertainment center sits on the right side, housing a 38-inch LCD television, a TV cable box, an S-Box 180, and a GameStation 3. _Gamer, huh?_ Next to it is a drumset-shaped video game controller and two guitar-shaped controllers, and in front of it is a laptop computer

"Rock Hero?"

"Yup. One of my favorite game franchises. It's also been my main source of music discovery for the past few years."

"What kind of music do you like?"

"Uh... Pretty much anything that sounds good to me."

"Any specific bands or artists?"

"Quite a few. Sweet Childs, Double-M, MetalMania, Cheese Sandwich, and a ton of bands I only know a couple songs from."

"You listen to Cheese Sandwich?!" she says excitedly.

"Um... Yeah. You like his songs?"

"Are you kidding?! I _love_ Cheese Sandwich! I've got every album of his on CD, and even a couple on vinyl records from my uncle, as well as a few shirts. I'm probably his biggest fan at CHS! I _really_ want to go to one of his concerts. Sitting in an aisle seat, watching him perform 'I Wanna Be Your Lover', him singing to me as he walks up and down the aisle..." She shuts her eyes and lets out a squeal.

 _Wow... She's practically a Cheese fangirl._

She clears her throat. "Sorry," she says with a blush. "I get really excited when talking about him. Please, _please_ don't tell anybody."

"No worries. Nothing you tell me will leave this house. I'm... guessing you've heard that before."

She sighs. "A couple times. Say they'll keep what I say a secret, then the next day half the school is teasing me about it."

"So saying my lips are sealed doesn't mean anything?"

"Actually, I believe _you_ more than those jerks."

"Oh." _That was surprisingly easy._ "Well... Okay, then."

Olivia is a little confused by her own actions. _**Why**_ _do I think he's sincere? Sure, he's a little nicer than the others were at first, but that can't be_ _ **all**_ _it takes to put me at ease._

Cloudflare notices her unsure expression. "You alright?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. I was just thinking about something."

"Uh-huh... Anyway, other than Cheese, what type of music do _you_ listen to?"

"Like you, a little bit of everything that wouldn't be classified as an auditory torture device. I know a lot of songs from Rushed and The Progeny. I've heard a few of Double-M's songs. He's pretty good. _Way_ better than a lot of the garbage modern rappers."

He chuckles. "No kidding. They _wish_ they were on his level."

She smiles. "It's good to see someone other than me who hates most modern rap."

"That's the one thing I don't like about a couple of my friends. It feels like they use their crap rap to get me to leave."

"What do you mean?"

"I've told Thunderlane and Blossomforth several times they should stop listening to that trash, but they always call me a hater. 'It's not trash. It has a phat beat.'"

"Ugh, I _hate_ that line of thinking. It's like it doesn't matter that the rapper sucks or the lyrics are wack. Long as it's got a dope beat for dopes, turn it up!"

He chuckles again. _I'd address the outdated slang, but "dope beat for dopes" is a pretty accurate description._

* * *

The two of them spend the next couple hours checking out some of his video games. Even though she's not a gamer, she insisted he show her them. The couple games she played that day were pretty fun, even with the short time she spent trying them out. Cloudflare tried to get to know Olivia better, but she was reluctant to say anything else. She already pressed her luck by divulging her musical interests, and she wasn't about to go one more time.

On the subject of music, she was eager to see what songs he has for Rock Hero. Browsing the song list, it gave her a better idea of what music he likes. _Not sure if this is the type of game for me, but it_ _ **does**_ _seem like a neat way to discover new songs... and_ _ **old**_ _songs._

At 5:07 PM, she receives a text from her father. He says he's waiting outside.

"Leaving already?" Cloudflare asks.

"Yeah... I thought this would be a waste of time, so I told him to pick me up on his way home from work if I hadn't left by then."

They leave his room. "It _wasn't_ a waste of time, was it?"

She smiles. "Not at all! I had a _great_ time!"

They walk downstairs. "That's good to hear. So, uh... You wanna come over tomorrow?"

"Um..." _I've been asked that before, and I've had a bad time each time. Cloudflare doesn't seem like the others, so it might be worth it this time._ Her smile returns. "I'd love to. Same time?"

"Same time sounds good."

She puts on her shoes and coat. "Awesome. See you then."

"Looking forward to it."

She leaves the house.

 _That went surprisingly well,_ Cloudflare thinks. _I wasn't expecting her to tell me_ _ **any**_ _of her interests. While she only told me what music she likes and dodged all my other questions, it's better than nothing._

 _That was... really fun,_ Olivia thinks as she walks to her father's car. _I haven't enjoyed spending time with others_ _ **this**_ _much since the accident. For once, I'm excited to see another student again. If all goes well tomorrow, I'll try to tough it out at CHS a little longer._


	5. Drama

**A/N: I got the idea for this chapter after reading another fanfic. It takes place a month after the events of "Mirror Magic", although reading my "Days of Magic" story isn't required (the only thing you need to know is Cloudflare and Olivia are dating again), and it is told through Cloudflare's POV.**

 **Rating: K+ [** ** **relationship dra**** **ma, mild language]**

* * *

 *****Thursday*****

I walk into the mall.

"Okay... What to get Olivia..." The one-year anniversary of when we first started dating is a few months away, and I want to get her something nice. It's a little early, but it never hurts to get a head start. To my left is the music store. Unless they have something like a signed first-print 'Cheese Sandwich in 3-D' vinyl, I doubt I'll find anything in there.

Wouldn't hurt to check. I walk inside, wave to Vinyl Scratch who's working at the counter, and head to the 'C' albums. After finding the Cheese stuff, I look through what they have. As I expected, nothing Olivia doesn't own. I go to the back of the store where the vintage section is located. Once again, I look through the 'C's. The only Cheese record here is 'Worse'. Thankfully she doesn't have that one. $25, though...

Eh, worth it. I pick up the album, then walk back to the front of the store and up to the counter and set down the album. Vinyl picks it up and scans it. I give her $30, and without saying a word, she places it in the register, gives me my change, and bags the album. Before I can leave, she holds up a finger, then gets out her phone. She scrolls through something on it for a minute, then places it face-up on the counter. I look at it. It's a website showing upcoming concerts. One of them is...

"Cheese Sandwich is... Where is this at?"

She scrolls up. It's the arena in the city.

"No way! Oh, I'm _definitely_ getting tickets for this! Olivia's gonna _love_ it! Thanks, Vinyl!"

She gives me a thumbs-up. I pick up the bag and leave the store. She is gonna be so ecstatic! I _hope_ there are left aisle seats still available... and she doesn't find out he's playing.

"Cloudflare!"

I look to my right. Trixie is walking toward me.

"Hey, Trixie," I say. "What's up?" She's not gonna gloat again, is she?

"Oh, not much. Hey, so I never got a chance to thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving me the chance to put on my magic show at Camp Everfree, of course!"

"Oh, that. It was nothing. I just _really_ wanted to see how good you were."

She chuckles. "And naturally, you were blown away by the Great and Powerful Trixie's performance!" _There's_ the arrogance I was expecting.

"Well, you _were_ pretty impressive."

She looks down, then back up. " _You're_ pretty impressive, too."

Um... "Huh?"

She walks behind me. "I never noticed before, but you're actually kinda cute."

She said that kinda odd... She sounds like Sunset did when she'd flirt with me. "Uh... th-thanks?"

She sighs. "It gets _so_ lonesome being the best at everything I do." She puts a hand on my shoulder. "I would _love_ to have somebody to walk around the mall with me."

Okay, I'm _very_ certain she's being flirty. I brush her hand away and turn around. "Look, Trixie, I'm flattered – and a little surprised – but you know I'm already going out with Olivia."

"I know." She grabs my left hand with both of hers. "We don't have to tell her."

I yank my hand away. "Trixie, you –"

She shushes me with a finger to my lips. "It'll be _our_ little secret," she says with lidded eyes. "Olivia will _never_ know."

That does it! I grab her wrist and move her finger away from me. "For the last time, Trixie, _I already have a girlfriend!_ If you really wanted to be with me, you had plenty of –" She grabs my shirt. "Wait, wa–mmm!" She forcefully pulls me into a kiss and wraps her arms around the back of my neck.

Enough! I try pushing her off, but she maintains her grip. I look at her right arm. I normally wouldn't do this, but I need to get her off of me _quick!_ I pinch the underside of her arm as hard as I can.

"Mmm! Ow!" She immediately lets go, and I give another push to put some distance between us. "Well, if _this_ is how you treat women, I guess I'll find somebody else!"

"Just leave me alone!"

"Hmph!" She walks away.

I sigh. "What the hell is her problem?" I look to the left. A few women are looking at me in surprise. I show them my friendship ring. "She forced herself on me! I'm already taken!" I need to get the taste of Trixie off my lips. I walk into the nearby restroom. I turn on the sink, then rinse my lips off, rubbing them to get rid of the taste.

* * *

 *****Friday*****

The final bell rings, bringing the school day to a close.

The entire day, something's been bothering me. I have no idea what it could be, though. It's been a typical Friday. I _did_ notice Rainbow and Twilight never looked my way. We always look at each other a couple times during the classes we have together, but they never once looked in my direction – and with Twilight sitting one seat in front and to the right, I would've noticed if she did.

Twilight walks over to my desk as I stand up. "Hey, Cloudflare? Um..." She looks a little nervous. "Can you meet us at Applejack's house right away after school? It's really important."

"Uh... Okay, but why?"

"I can't say right now."

"Uh... huh... Alright, I'll be there."

"Thanks." She walks toward the door.

I wonder what could be so important, yet is something I can't know about...

* * *

I arrive at AJ's house, where the girls – except Olivia and Juniper – are waiting in the garage.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask as I walk inside.

"Well, uh..." AJ starts. All of the girls are looking uneasy. "Uh... I think it's best if we just show you."

"Show me what?"

Pinkie gets out her laptop, sets it on a nearby table, and opens it. She logs in, then moves out of the way.

I walk over to it. On the screen is a MyFace message sent to Pinkie by Trixie. In it are photos from our encounter yesterday. One shows her hands on my shoulders, another with her grabbing my hand, and... one of her kissing me...

I sigh. So much for putting this behind me. "I can explain everything."

"That's why we called you here," Sunset says. "We didn't want to jump to any conclusions, and we want to hear your side."

"Did you _actually_ kiss Trixie?" Fluttershy asks.

"No, I didn't," I say. " _She_ kissed _me!_ I rejected all of her advances, but she forced herself on me! I don't like her as a _friend,_ let alone a potential girlfriend!"

"So why does it look like you're enjoying it?" Rarity asks, more in a concerned tone instead of an accusatory one.

"I don't know, but I _wasn't_ enjoying it! You _gotta_ believe me!" I say, sounding a bit panicked.

"Calm down, Cloudflare!" Pinkie says.

"Yeah, everything's okay!" Sunset says. "We _do_ believe you."

That was... quick! "Wait... You do? Just like that?"

"It's _Trixie,_ dude!" Rainbow says. "There's no way you'd cheat on Olivia for _her!"_

"We knew there was somethin' fishy about those pics," AJ says. "We just needed to hear it from you."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad to hear that! You, um... You haven't told Olivia, have you?"

"Not yet," Sunset says.

"Good. Can you keep it between us? I don't want her to freak out at Trixie."

"Uh... I don't think that's a wise idea," Rarity says.

"I agree," Sunset says. " _We_ can keep it from her, but _you_ should tell her. If you don't, and she finds out from somebody else, she might think you _were_ having an affair."

"Olivia being mad at Trixie is _nothing_ compared to possibly losing Olivia as your girlfriend!" Rainbow says.

"Or even your _friend!_ " Rarity says.

As much as I want to believe Olivia wouldn't be _that_ mad at me... I sigh. "You're right." I get out my phone and call her.

"You're not telling her over the phone, are you?" Rarity asks.

"No way!"

Olivia answers. "Hiya, Flare!"

"Hey, Liv. Can you, uh... Can you come over to Applejack's house for a bit?"

"Um... Are you alright? You sound worried."

"I'm fine. Just get over here."

"Okay. It'll take me a while to get there, though."

Oh right... She's on the other side of town. "Hang on." I move the phone away from my ear. "Rarity, can you go pick up Olivia?"

"I'm on it." She leaves the garage.

I put the phone back to my ear. "Rarity's on her way."

"I..." She sighs. "Fine. I'll wait for her."

I think she knows something's up. "Great. See you then."

She hangs up.

* * *

Rarity and Olivia walk into the garage.

"You _and_ Rarity are acting strange," Olivia says. "What is going on?"

"Well..." Crap, I didn't think about how to explain it! I was too worried about how she'd react! "Uh..."

"Just show her," AJ says.

"Show me what?"

"You're right." I walk over to the table. "Come here." She follows. "I, um... I want to show you something that happened yesterday."

"O...kay..."

I step out of the way and she looks at the laptop screen. Her expression changes from curiosity to shock, then anger, and finally confusion.

"So, um..." She looks closely at each image. After a few moments, she takes a deep breath, then clears her throat and looks at me. "Care to explain?"

I sigh. "Yesterday, I was looking for something at the mall when I ran into Trixie. She thanked me for allowing her to do her magic show at Camp Everfree. Then she started coming onto me. She said she wanted somebody to walk around the mall with her and was getting flirty. I rejected her advances, but she persisted. Then she kissed me. _She_ kissed _me_ ," I emphasize. "I got her off of me as quickly as I could, and she stormed off."

"Hmm..." She looks at the pictures again, then back to me. She smiles, then places her hands on my shoulders and kisses me.

We separate after a few seconds. "I, uh... I take it you're not mad?"

"At you? Of course not!" She kisses me again, and I put my hands on her waist. "Even if you were still single, I don't believe for a second you'd show any interest in _Trixie!_ Kinda strange that _she'd_ show interest in _you_ all of a sudden."

"Yeah, unless constantly gloating about winning the Battle of the Bands is her way of showing affection."

She lets go, then gets out her phone.

"What are you doing now?" Fluttershy asks.

"I'm gonna confront her."

"You won't freak out at her, will you?" I ask.

"I'll try not to, but no promises."

* * *

Olivia and I are waiting at the school statue's base. She messaged Trixie on MyFace and demanded they have a talk about what happened. I really hope it doesn't get physical.

A car pulls into a spot in the school's parking lot, and the person gets out. Well, there she is.

"Be ready to yank me off of her," Olivia says to me.

"I don't think it'll come to that."

"What if Flash made out with me? Wouldn't you want to knock his lights out?"

"Uh... Well, when you put it _that_ way... I guess it depends on why he did it."

Trixie walks over to us. I hold Olivia's hand to try to keep her calm.

"Uh... H-hello, Cloudflare... Olivia..." She looks very nervous.

" _Lulamoon_..." Olivia growls, gripping my hand tightly.

"Let's cut to the chase," I say. "You know why we called you here. Start explaining."

Trixie sighs. "It wasn't my idea."

Um... "What do you mean?" I ask.

"I, uh... I ran into somebody in the mall that day. She... She told me to kiss you."

"Somebody _told_ you..." Olivia says in an 'I don't believe a word of that' tone.

"Well, more like she blackmailed me."

"Blackmail? Who could _possibly_ have dirt on you?" I ask.

"It was... It was Gilda."

Did... Did she say...

"Gi... _Gilda?!"_

I sigh. "I thought she was done tormenting me after I became friends with the Rainbooms..."

"She wanted me to kiss you so she could make it look like you were cheating on Olivia. She showed me pictures she had of me setting up for the magic show at Camp Everfree, and she threatened to post them online if I didn't cooperate."

"Um... How exactly is that blackmail?" Olivia asks.

"The pictures show how some of my illusions are performed. I _couldn't_ let her post them! I would be ruined!"

"So let me guess," I say. "She thought if Olivia saw what looked like me being unfaithful, Liv would break up with me and we'd both be miserable and easy targets for her again?"

"Well, I don't know about being easy targets, but she was also betting on your friends turning on you. That's why I sent the pics to them and not you two."

Olivia sighs. "I guess we'll have to be on our toes again..."

"Except it's not just us now," I say. "As long as we have our friends, she can't break us so easily. If worse comes to worst, I can use my power on her."

"I'm _very_ sorry, you two," Trixie says. "If there's any way I can make it up to you..."

"You don't need to," I say. "You were forced to do it. Your apology is enough." On second thought... "Actually, there's one thing. Can you stop gloating about beating me and the Dazzlings at the Battle?"

"Can do."

"Thanks."

"So... we're cool?"

I gently nudge Olivia.

She sighs. "Yeah, we're cool. No hard feelings." She holds out her hand, and Trixie accepts the handshake. I do the same.

"Just don't do anything like this again," I say.

"Believe me, I won't," Trixie says. "Well, I'll see you two later. I need to get back to practicing my latest trick."

"Alright, then," Olivia says.

"Hope we meet again on better terms," I say.

Trixie smiles, then walks back to her car.

"You know," Olivia says, "if you can get past her arrogance, she's actually a pretty nice girl."

"Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't go out with her, but I could at least try to be her friend."

She steps in front of me, grabs both my hands, and kisses me. "Just out of curiosity, who's the better kisser; me or Trixie?"

"Probably you."

She raises an eyebrow. _"Probably?"_

"I wasn't focusing on how her lips felt, and I'd rather forget the whole thing."

She smiles. "Smart answer."

Hmm... Maybe I should give her those things now.

"So where do you wanna go now?" she asks.

"Let's go to my house."

"Okay."

* * *

I open the door to my room. "After you."

Olivia walks in, and I follow. I go over to my closet and retrieve the bag containing the record and my other gift, holding it behind me as I turn around. She's sitting in my computer chair.

"What'cha got there?" she asks.

"It's something I was gonna give you in a few months, but after what's happened over the last 24 hours, I feel I should give it to you now." I hand her the bag, then sit on my bed.

She pulls out the record, and her eyes light up. "Oh, wow! 'Worse' on vinyl! Not my favorite Cheese album, but it's still pretty cool to have the record!"

"Yeah, that's the only thing the music store had."

"Why did you want to wait to give me this?"

"Well, yesterday I started looking for something to give you to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of when we first started dating."

She looks surprised. "Huh... That's an... odd thing to celebrate. That's a few months away, though."

"Never hurts to get a head start."

She looks in the bag. "What's this envelope?"

"That's my second present."

She takes it out, then opens it and removes the piece of paper inside and reads it to herself.

Her eyes grow wide. "Oh my... Is... Is this a... a ticket... for...!"

That's the reaction I expected. I smile. "Olivia Frost, I would like to take you to see Cheese Sandwich in concert in September."

She gasps. "O... M... Wait, where is this seat?"

"Center left, aisle seat."

She lets out a loud fangirl squeal. "OMG! Yes! _YES!"_ Suddenly, she lunges at me, crashing her lips against mine and pushing me onto my back.

"Mmm?!"

She places multiple quick kisses on my lips. "Oh, thank you, _thank you!_ You have no idea how happy you just made me!"

I nervously chuckle. "Uh, I think have _some_ idea."

She kisses me again. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten! You're the BBE!"

"Um... BBE?"

She leans down to my ear. "Best... boyfriend... ever," she whispers.

Her voice sends shivers down my spine. "Mmm... Well, I try."

"And you do a fantastic job!"

I kiss her. "So, not that I mind, but can you let me up now?"

She looks down. "Oh. Sorry about that." She gets off the bed.

"Like I said, I don't mind. I just wasn't expecting it." I do the same, then grab her hands. "So, Liv, what do you wanna do next?"

"Hmm... Can we go watch the Rainbooms practice?"

I kiss her again. "Whatever you want."

We put our foreheads together and stare into each other's eyes for a while.

I think I might be in love with her.

* * *

 **A/N: A future chapter will be a Q &A session with Cloudflare and Olivia. If you have any questions for them, send me a PM. There's no limit to the number of questions you can send, but they cannot exceed the site's K+ rating. I might not use every question I receive.**


	6. Raid

**A/N: This takes place during early August and is told from Olivia's POV. The entire chapter will focus on Pokémon Go.**

 **Rating: K+ [mild language]**

* * *

I'm lying next to Cloudflare in his bed, the two of us watching the latest episode of Comet vs. Evil. Another surprisingly good show on this channel.

Right as the commercial break starts, my phone buzzes. I check it. I have a MyFace notification. I open the app. There's a post on the Pokémon Go group I'm part of.

"Moltres raid at the mall, ends at 12:55pm. Anyone up for a meetup at 12:30?"

That's a little over an hour from now. I can make it there, but...

"Flare?"

He sighs. "It's a Pokémon thing, isn't it?"

I nod. "There's, uh... There's a legendary raid going on at the mall. The MyFace group wants to meet at 12:30."

"Well, at least they're giving advance notice."

"I know you hoping to spend the entire day with me, but I _really_ want to go to this."

"Hmm..." He thinks it over for a moment. "Okay, sure."

Awesome! "You mean it?"

"I know how much you like that app. As long as it's not last minute, I'm okay with anything you want to do."

I kiss him. "You're the best."

* * *

I walk over to the fountain, where several people are waiting.

"Hi, Olivia!" Button Mash says.

"Hey, Button." I look at the others. 14 people are here, and a couple of them have 2 phones.

"Sup, Olivia?" Lemon Zest says.

"Not much." We do our special handshake.

"You should try to get Cloudflare to play again," Cloudchaser says. "It's a lot better when you have someone helping you attack the gyms, especially when you're fighting a Blissey."

"Plus we could always use more raid help," Flitter says.

"I tried," I say, "but he doesn't want anything to do with Pokémon."

"He said the same thing when the game came out," Flitter says.

"Why _doesn't_ he like it?" Button asks.

"He told me he got frustrated as a kid when he played one of the first games," I say.

"Was the Elite Four too tough for him?"

"No, he said he couldn't beat the first gym leader."

"Wait, the _first_ gym leader?" Lemon asks in disbelief.

"He chose Charmander, didn't he?" Flitter asks.

"Yup, and he didn't bother hunting down a Caterpie."

"Red version?"

"Sounds like it."

"Well, that's too bad," Cloudchaser says. She looks at the others. "So, we going in now?"

I use a Lucky Egg, then tap the gym. Several people respond with "Yeah" and "Goin' in".

"Ready when you are," I say.

"Alright," Lemon says, "let's go!"

After spinning the photo disc, I tap the battle option, then the raid pass. I get my usual team ready: A roughly 3000CP Tyranitar, a couple 2400CP Vaporeon, a 2200CP Jolteon, and a 2000CP Tyranitar and 1900CP Snorlax batting cleanup just in case. The downside of waiting so long to start playing is I'm only level 28.

I scroll through the trainer names. I recognize a few of them. TwinTrouble01, TwinTrouble02, Rockstar94, and PaPaPolkaFace, which is the best username ever. Too bad he's not on Team Mystic.

The raid starts. I'm not worried about running out of time, since we have more than enough players. I'm just hoping I can get through this without having to burn _six_ Revives like during those Articuno raids...

Surprisingly, it takes about a minute for my top Tyranitar to be knocked out. That's longer than anything lasted the week before. Moltres's HP is almost in the red with 2/3 of the time remaining. My first Vaporeon barely hangs on long enough for Moltres to be KOed half a minute later.

"That was easy," Button says.

"Well, yeah," Lemon says. "We had 16 people."

On the rewards screen, I get 10 Golden Razz Berries, 12 Rare Candies, 7 Revives, and a Charged TM.

"Remember," one of the people in our group says, "once someone catches it, don't press 'OK'."

Geez, _again?!_ "That doesn't work," I say. "One of the devs said it's just a myth."

"Yeah, it's BS," Lemon says. "Just like holding up and B."

 _Up_ and B? "I thought it was _down_ and B."

Flitter and Cloudchaser chuckle. "Oh, right," Flitter says.

"Hey, up and B worked!" Cloudchaser says sarcastically. "I caught things quicker every time I used it."

"No, it _totally_ worked!" Lemon sarcastically says with a smile.

"Guess that explains why it never worked for me." I'll admit to having used it just on the off-chance it _did_ do something.

Okay, 10 Premier Balls. Hopefully I can get it this time. I give it a Golden Razz Berry, then wait for it to attack. I do my best to throw a curve ball, and I get a great throw. The ball shakes once, then does the caught animation.

What?! "No way!"

"You got it?" Lemon asks.

"Yeah, and a first-ball critical catch!"

"Whoa!"

"Nice!"

"Way to go!"

That was damn lucky! Almost reminds me of that long streak of good luck I had after that Trixie drama. Except this time, it won't lead to going mad with power. I hope that type of thing _never_ happens again...

While the others are trying to catch it, I take advantage of the Lucky Egg and evolve a bunch of Pokémon I've been holding onto. 30,000 XP from the raid plus the batch of evolutions. Even if I hadn't caught Moltres, I would've been somewhat satisfied.

Once everyone is done, the final count is 6 successful captures, including Flitter and Lemon.

"Thanks for coming out, guys," Lemon says.

"No problem," Flitter says.

"At least _one_ of us got it," Cloudchaser says, looking at her sister

"I still can't believe you got a critical right off the bat!" Button says to me.

"Neither can I," I say, "especially after yesterday's not even getting to _two_ wiggles."

"Just watch," Lemon says. "Next raid, you'll get it after using a Pinap Berry."

I chuckle. "I don't think I'll be _that_ lucky." I honestly don't _want_ to. If I catch the next one I go to, I'm gonna be worried.

Damn it, now I'm afraid of _any_ lucky streak...

"I'll see you guys later," I say. "I need to get back to my boyfriend."

"See ya!" Button says.

"Have fun!" Lemon says with a wink. I swear, sometimes it feels like she thinks all we do is...

Ehh... She can think whatever she wants.

I spin the photo disc again to get another raid pass, then leave the group.

* * *

 **A/N: The team she uses for Moltres is the same team I used for my first Entei raid. Unlike her, I've never gotten a critical or even a first-throw capture on a legendary (at the time of writing).**

 **The "mad with power" bit at the end is a story I've partially written and hope to finish one day.**


	7. New Year

**A/N: Told from Flare's POV, this takes place at the end of the year.**

 **Rating: K**

* * *

Olivia and I are in my room on New Year's Eve, sitting up in my bed and watching one of the many countdown shows with a giant ball on a pole being lowered to the top of a building. Pinkie is holding a party, but the two of us wanted to spend the end of the year with just each other. If it's like the party Thunderlane held a couple years ago, someone will probably try to spike the punch. That or Pinkie will drop Spike in the punch and make a pun out of it.

One minute to go. It's getting really difficult to keep my eyes open. I'm never awake this late.

Olivia yawns. "This has been the wildest year ever."

"Understatement of the decade," I say. "And I'm betting next year will be even crazier."

"You think it can top this year? I feel like it'll be calmer because we're used to it."

I yawn. "I mean, anything's possible. It'll be tough to beat the clover thing, both our Equestria adventures, or when we swapped bodies for a weekend, but who knows? Or discovering you're terrified of heights."

She sighs. "You _had_ to remind me..."

"Just saying."

"Should I remind _you_ about _your_ freakout that day?"

"Hey, if she just let me use my power, everything would've been fine."

"That's on you for not speaking up."

I learned that day I need to tell my friends when I'm worried about something like that, or at least my girlfriend. After all, they talked to me when they saw those photos Gilda took. Man, I'm _so_ relieved they didn't grill me on that.

Olivia's not entirely sure what caused her fear of heights, but she thinks it might've been her near-death experience at the Friendship Games. I didn't develop a fear of heights after Princess Twilight dropped me and her pony friends from an airship, but everyone reacts to those things differently. Olivia's Equestria adventure sounded exciting, but nothing tops what _I_ went through on our first visit.

And spending a weekend in Olivia's body gave me an even greater appreciation for her desire to walk again after her accident. Learning to walk with no feeling below my right knee is _really_ hard. It's not like walking on a numb foot after sitting on it for a while. At least then, I regain feeling after a minute.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!"

"I haven't been so excited for the new year in ages!" Olivia says.

I don't think I've _ever_ been excited for the new year. I always saw it as just another year.

"Three! Two!"

Except last year into this year.

"One!"

The ball reaches the building and the numbers light up to ring in the new year.

Olivia pulls me into a hug. "Happy New Year, Flarey."

"Happy New Year, Liv."

We kiss. This is going to be the best year ever. I can feel it.

A few moments later, we separate. "Okay, we made it to the new year," Olivia says. She yawns. "Can we go to sleep now?"

"I thought you were excited!" I say with a smirk.

"I am, but I'm also about to pass out."

I yawn. "Yeah, me too." I turn off the TV and Olivia removes her glasses. We stand up and I pull down the mattress comforter.

Our parents are fine with her staying the night. With how tired she is, I wouldn't want her to drive home anyway. She wanted us to sleep in the same bed. With how much time we spend together, I'm surprised we hadn't done this sooner.

We lie on the bed and I pull the cover over us. I'm also surprised there's enough room for both of us. We kiss again. "Love you," I say.

"Love you, too."

I turn off the light by the bed.

Hopefully she doesn't snore. Hopefully _I_ don't snore.

* * *

 **A/N: Just a quick chapter while I try to finish a longer story.**


End file.
